Belt conveyor capable of conveying oilseed products

ABSTRACT

A belt and a belt conveyor are provided for transporting particulate material and especially oilseeds up the belt conveyor. The belt conveyor can include an intake end having a hopper, a discharge end, a body extending between the intake end and the discharge end and a belt. The belt travels along a travel path in the belt conveyor; the belt traveling through the hopper, up an upper run in the body to the discharge end, down a return run in the body, and back through the hopper. The belt can have a top surface having pairs of adjacent ridges provided on the top surface, each ridge having a pair of arms extending from a point, in a travel direction of the belt, wherein each pair of adjacent ridges define a v-channel on the top surface of the belt.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to and benefit of CA Serial No.3,046,751, filed Jun. 17, 2019, the contents of which are incorporatedby reference in its entirety for all purposes.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of conveying equipment andmore particularly a belt conveyor for transporting particulate materialand especially oilseeds up the conveyor.

BACKGROUND

Typically, belt conveyors for particulate material, such as grain,oilseeds, fertilizer, and other agricultural products use a belt tocarry the particulate material up a tubular body of the belt conveyor tobe discharged out an upper discharge end of the belt conveyor. Thesebelt conveyors will typically comprise an upper n in the body of thebelt conveyor that the belt passes through as it travels up the beltconveyor carrying the particulate material with this upper run beingshaped in a troughed configuration to carry the particulate material inthe center of the belt. The belt conveyor is mounted on a frame thatcommonly contains ground wheels to allow the belt conveyor to be movedaround on a ground surface and that supports the body of the beltconveyor in an inclined orientation. The belt travels up the body of thebelt conveyor carrying the particulate material until the belt passesover a top roller at the discharge end of the belt conveyor, dischargingany particulate material being carried on the belt off of the belt andout the discharge end of the belt conveyor. When the belt passes overthis top roller, the belt travels back down the body of the beltconveyor in a return run passing under the upper run that the belt takestraveling up the belt conveyor.

The return run of the belt typically passes through a s-drive sectionmounted under the body of the belt conveyor. The s-drive sectioncontains a number of rollers, including idling rollers, a tensioningroller and a drive roller that keeps the belt under tension and drivesthe belt through its path in the belt conveyor.

From the s-drive section, the belt will typically run back to an intakeend of the belt conveyor where a hopper is provided. After the belt runsthrough the hopper, the belt travels back of up the upper run in thebody of the belt conveyor carrying any particulate material that wasdeposited on the belt in the hopper. This particulate material will bedischarged out the discharge end of the belt conveyor when the portionof the belt carrying this material reaches the discharged end of thebelt conveyor.

Problems can arise when conveying small particulate material, such asgrains, and especially when this particulate material is made up of oilyparticles, such as oilseeds like canola or flax. These small and/or oilyseeds can move off the edges of the belt and fall into the interior ofthe belt conveyor, where they can cause a buildup of material on theback of belts, rollers, or other places within the belt conveyor andfoul the different components in the belt conveyor. These seeds thatfall off the belt can also be crushed, which is especially problematicwith oilseeds since crushing the oilseeds will cause the oilseeds torelease oil. This oil from these crushed oilseeds can negatively impactthe performance of the belt conveyor with the oil causing the crushedoilseeds to become very gummy and sticky, impeding the operation of therollers, building up on the belts and other components, causing the beltto slip on the drive or other rollers or otherwise fouling thecomponents and the operation of the belt conveyor. The oil released fromthe crushed oil seeds can also cause the material the belt is made of todeteriorate and even fail, in some cases.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In a first aspect, a belt conveyor is provided. The belt conveyor caninclude an intake end, a discharge end, a body extending between theintake end and the discharge end, a frame having ground wheels andpositioning the body in an inclined orientation, a hopper provided at anintake end, the hopper having an upper end and a lower end, a transitionsection having a first side wall and a second side wall and positionedbetween the hopper and the body, an s-roller assembly having a tops-roller and a bottom s-roller and positioned at the upper end of thehopper, and a belt having a first edge and a second edge. The belttravels along a travel path in the belt conveyor; the belt travelingthrough an upper run in the hopper, over the top s-roller, under thebottom s-roller, through the transition section, up an upper run in thebody to the discharge end and down a return run in the body, through alower run in the hopper and back to the upper run in the hopper.

In a further aspect, the belt conveyor can include a first transitionbelt edge seal having an upper end, a lower end and a flat bodyextending from the upper end towards the lower end and a secondtransition belt edge seal having an upper end, a lower end and a flatbody extending from the upper end towards the lower end. The firsttransition belt edge seal can extend from the upper end of the hopperalong the first side wall of the transition section and the secondtransition belt edge seal can extend from the upper end of the hopperalong the second side wall of the transition section.

In a further aspect, the belt conveyor can include a deflector having afirst end positioned adjacent the top s-roller and extending towards thebelt in the transition section.

In a further aspect, the belt conveyor can include a scraper positionedin contact with a roller in the belt conveyor and extendingsubstantially the width of the roller.

In a further aspect, the belt conveyor can include a wiper positioned incontact with a bottom surface of the belt and extending substantiallythe width of the bottom surface of the belt.

In a further aspect, the belt conveyor can include a collection trayprovided in an s-drive section of the belt conveyor.

In a further aspect, the belt of the belt conveyor can include edges, atop surface having pairs of adjacent ridges provided on the top surface,each ridge having a pair of arms extending from a point, in a traveldirection of the belt, wherein each pair of adjacent ridges define av-channel on the top surface of the belt; and a bottom surface.

In another aspect, a belt for a belt conveyor is provided. The belt caninclude edges, a top surface having pairs of adjacent ridges provided onthe top surface, each ridge having a pair of arms extending from apoint, in a travel direction of the belt, wherein each pair of adjacentridges define a v-channel on the top surface of the belt, and a bottomsurface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A preferred embodiment of the present invention is described below withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a belt conveyor;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the belt conveyor shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the belt conveyor along sectionalline AA shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a top view of a belt for use in the belt conveyor;

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of the belt shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a close up sectional view along sectional line B-B in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a top perspective view of a hopper of the belt conveyor ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a side section view of the hopper of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a pair of belt edge seals;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a scraper;

FIG. 11 is a side sectional view of an s-drive of a belt conveyor;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a wiper; and

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of an s-drive and a removable collectiontray.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1-3 illustrate a belt conveyor 10 for conveying particulatematerial, such as grain, oilseeds, fertilizer, and other products, upthe belt conveyor 10 from an intake end 12, where the particulatematerial is loaded into the belt conveyor 10, to a discharge end 14,where the particulate material is discharged out of the belt conveyor 10and into a trailer, storage bin, etc. A generally tubular body 20 canextend at an inclined orientation from the intake end 12 of the beltconveyor 10 to the discharge end 14 of the belt conveyor 10.

The belt conveyor 10 can have a frame 30 supported on ground wheels 32so that the belt conveyor 10 can be moved along a ground surface whilethe frame 30 positions the body 20 of the belt conveyor 10 in theinclined orientation.

The intake end 12 of the belt conveyor 10 can have a hopper 100 thatextends along a ground surface to a transition section 40 positionedbetween the hopper 100 and the body 20 of the belt conveyor 10. Theshape of the hopper 100 can reach under a bottom discharge of a traileror bin to receive particulate material, discharged out of a bottomdischarge of the trailer or bin, so that the belt conveyor 10 can movethe particulate material received in the hopper 100 up the belt conveyor10 to be discharged out the discharge end 14.

The discharge end 14 of the belt conveyor 10 can have a spout to directthe flow of particulate material being discharged out of the dischargeend 14 of the belt conveyor 10 into another trailer, storage bin, etc.

A belt 50 can travel along a travel path in the belt conveyor 10,running through the hopper 100, a transition section 40 and the body 20of the belt conveyor 10 to convey particulate material that has beenintroduced into the hopper 100 at the intake end 12 of the belt conveyor10 up the body 20 to the discharge end 14 of the belt conveyor 10 wherethe particulate material will be discharged from the belt conveyor 10.

An s-drive section 200 can be provided in proximity the body 20 of thebelt conveyor 10 and the belt 50 can be routed through this s-drivesection 200. The s-drive section 200 can contain components to drive thebelt 50 through its path in the belt conveyor 10 and to keep the propertension and alignment on the belt 50 as it travels through the beltconveyor 10.

The belt conveyor 10 can be configured to convey particulate materialand especially oilseeds, such as canola, flax, hemp, sunflower, etc., upthe belt conveyor 10 while minimizing damage to the components of thebelt conveyor 10 and any negative effects to the oilseeds or otherparticulate material being conveyed up the belt conveyor 10. Manyoilseeds are small in size and are easily leaked in conventionalconveyors. This leaked oilseed can enter portions of the conveyor, suchas the drivetrain, pulleys, rollers, etc. of the conveyor, where it canget crushed and oil released from the crushed oilseed can be exposed tothe fabric of the belt, roller elements and other components of theconveyor. This oil and crushed oilseeds can build up and affect theperformance of the conveyor in many ways, (i.e. belt tracking, beltclearances, roller slippage, etc.). The oil can also cause damage to thebelt itself by degrading the material the belt is made from. The beltconveyor 10 has a number of features and elements to reduce and evenprevent these problems with conveying oilseeds and other particulatematerial using the belt conveyor 10.

Referring to FIGS. 4-6, illustrates a portion of the belt 50. WhileFIGS. 4-6 show a short portion of the belt 50, the length of the belt 50can be made as long as needed to run through the path in the beltconveyor 10. The top surface 52 of the belt 50 can have a profile thatis configured to convey the particulate material up the belt conveyor 50while trying to motivate the particulate material to move towards acenter of the belt 50 away from the edges 54 of the belt 50. The topsurface 52 can have a series of v-channels 60, each v-channel 60 definedby a pair of adjacent raised ridges 62. The ridges 62 can each have apair of arms 64 extending from a point 66, with the arms 64 oriented sothat when the belt 50 is moving in the travel direction, D, the arms 64of the ridges 62 are placed in front of the point 66 and the point 66trails the arms 64 of the ridges 62.

In one aspect, the v-channels 60 can be positioned so that the point 66formed by the arms 64 of the ridges 62 is in substantially a center ofthe belt 50. In another aspect, the arms 64 of each ridge 62 can extendfrom the point 66 of the ridge 62 at an angle of 35° from an axisperpendicular to the direction of travel, D. In another aspect, the arms64 of each ridge can extend from the point at an angle between 25 and45°. In a further aspect, the arms 64 of each ridge can extend from thepoint at an angle between 15° and 55°.

The v-channels 60 can be used to direct particulate material, such asoilseeds, being carried up the belt conveyor 10 on the belt 50 towards acenter of the belt 50 to try and cause the oilseeds to remain in thecenter of the belt 50, rather than moving to the edges 54 of the belt 50due to the movement of the belt 50 as the belt 50 travels along thetravel path, in the travel direction, D, in the belt conveyor 10. Thiswill prevent the oilseeds being carried on the top surface 52 of thebelt 50 from moving towards and off the edges 54 of the belt 50 wherethe oilseeds can be leaked and/or crushing cause damage to components ofthe belt conveyor 10 or otherwise affecting the performance of the beltconveyor 10.

A set of side ridges 67 can be positioned at the ends of the arms 64 andoriented parallel to the direction of travel, D, of the belt 50 toenclose the v-channels 60 and prevent particulate material that may moveoutwards on the belt 50 towards the ends of the v-channels 60 frommoving out of the v-channels 60 and reaching the edges 54 of the belt50. Each side ridge 67 can be positioned adjacent one of the edges 54and between the one of the edges 54 and the v-channels 60.

Sealing sections 68 adjacent to the edges 54 of the belt 50 can beprovided to correspond with sealing elements to prevent particulatematerial from reaching the edges 54 of the belt 50. Each sealing section68 can extend between one of the edges 54 of the belt 50 and the sideridge 67 nearest that one of the edges 54.

In one aspect, the belt 50 can be made from an oil-resistant rubber thatwill not detrimentally degrade (swell) in the presence of oilseeds,extracted oil or oilseed components.

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate the hopper 100 at the intake end 12 of the beltconveyor 10, the belt 50 can have an upper run 150 passing generallyhorizontally in the hopper 100 from a lower end 104 to an upper end 102of the hopper 100 where the belt 50 will pass over a top S-roller 132 ofan s-roller assembly 130, and then under a bottom s-roller 134 of thes-roller assembly 130. After passing round the bottom s-roller 134, thebelt 50 will then pass through the transition section 40 andsubsequently pass up the body 20 of the belt conveyor 10.

The transition section 40 can be provided between the hopper 100 and thebody 20 of the belt conveyor 10 where particulate material that isdischarged off of the upper run 150 of the belt 50 at the an upper end102 of the hopper 100 and drops onto the belt 50 as it passes up thebody 20 of the belt conveyor 10. The transition section 40 provides atransition from where the belt 50 travels from the hopper 100 to thebody 20 of the belt conveyor 10 to direct the particulate material fromthe upper run 150 onto the incline portion of the belt conveyor 10. Thetransition section 40 both changes the orientation of the travel path ofthe belt 50 as it transitions from the upper run 150 in the hopper 100to the upper run 450 in the body 20 of the belt conveyor 10, but it alsochanges the shape of the belt 50 from being substantially flat andoriented within a plane in the hopper 100, to a curved, troughed shapewhere the center of the belt 50 is positioned below the edges 54 of thebelt 50 at the lowest points and the belt 50 is curved upwards towardthe edges 54 of the belt 50. This troughed configuration of the belt 50in the body 20 of the belt conveyor 10 motivates the particulatematerial being carried up the belt conveyor 10 by the belt 50 towardsthe lowest place in the trough, the center of the belt 50, rather thantowards the higher edges 54.

The transition section 40 can have a first sidewall 41 and a secondsidewall 42 that extend between the hopper 100 and the body 20 of thebelt conveyor 10.

When the belt 50 returns through a return run, passing below the upperrun 450 and along the bottom of the body 20 of the belt conveyor 10, thebelt 50 can pass under a back roller 140 and through a lower run 154along a bottom of the hopper 100 to a front roller 122 positioned in thelower end 104 of the hopper 100 where the belt 50 will pass over thefront roller 122 to once again be redirected through the upper run 150in the hopper 100 and then subsequently up the upper run 450 in the bodyof the belt conveyor 10.

A first sidewall 162 and a second sidewall 164 extend from the lower end104 of the hopper 100 along the sides of the hopper 100 to the upper end102 of the hopper 100. A front sidewall 166 can extend between the firstsidewall 162 and the second sidewall 164 at the lower end 104 of thehopper 100.

A resilient first top seal strip 172 can extend from the lower end 104of the hopper 100 to an upper end 102 of the hopper 100 and over top ofthe belt 50 where it passes over the top s-roller 132. The first topseal strip 172 can be positioned abutted against the first side wall 162of the hopper 100 and extending over the sealing section 68 of the belt50 so that a bottom of the first top seal strip 172 is positionedagainst the belt 50. In one aspect, the first top seal strip 172 canextend over the sealing section 68 on the belt 50 to the side ridge 67running between the sealing section 68 and the v-channels 60 so that abottom of the first top seal strip 172 presses against the top of theside ridge 67.

A resilient second top seal strip 174 can extend from the lower end 104of the hopper 100 to the upper end 102 of the hopper 100 and over top ofthe belt 50 where it passes over the top s-roller 132. The second topseal strip 174 can be positioned abutted against the second side wall164 of the hopper 100 and extending over the sealing sections 168 of thebelt 50 so that a bottom of the second top seal strip 174 is positionedagainst the belt 50. In one aspect, the second top seal strip 174 canextend over the sealing section 68 on the belt 50 to the side ridge 67so that a bottom of the second top seal strip 174 presses against theside ridge 67.

The first and second top seal strips 172, 174 can be used to protect theedges 54 of the belt 50 and to try and reduce, or even prevent, oilseedsor other particulate material being discharged into the hopper 100 onthe upper run 150 of the belt 50 in the hopper 100 from falling off ofthe belt 50 and into the bottom of the hopper 100.

A pair of transition belt edge seals 180, 190 can be provided in thetransition section 40 where particulate material passes from the upperrun 150 of the belt 50 at the upper end 102 of the hopper 100 to thetransition section 40 where the belt 50 begins to travel up the body 20of the belt conveyor 10 through the upper run 450. This pair oftransition belt edge seals 180, 190 can be used to try reduce, or evenprevent, oilseeds or other particulate material from moving past theedges 54 of the belt 50 and falling below the belt 50 in this transitionsection 40 where the oilseeds, or other particulate material, arechanging direction of travel to being travelling up the upper run 450through the body 20 of the belt conveyor 10.

FIG. 9 illustrates the pair of resilient transition belt edge seals 180,190. The first transition belt edge seal 180 can have an upper end 182,a lower end 184 and a flat body 186 extending from the upper end 182towards the lower end 184. The lower end 184 can have a semi-circularmember 188 that has a shape that corresponds to the top s-roller 132.The second transition belt edge seal 190 can have an upper end 192, alower end 194 and a flat body 196 extending from the upper end 192towards the lower end 194. The lower end 194 can have a semi-circularmember 198 that has a shape that corresponds to the top s-roller 132.

Referring again to FIGS. 7 and 8, the first transition belt edge seal180 can extend from the upper end 102 of the hopper 100, along the firstsidewall 41 of the transition section 40 towards the body 20 of thehopper 100. The first transition belt edge seal 180 can be positionedbelow and extending under the upper end 102 of the hopper 100 where thelower end 184 of the first transition belt edge seal 180 extends belowthe upper end 151 of the upper run 150 of the belt 150 through thehopper 100 with the semi-circular member 188 of the first transitionbelt edge seal 180 positioned below the top s-roller 132 and the lowerend 184 extending under the top s-roller 132 so that the lower end 184of the first transition belt edge seal 180 can be positioned adjacent tothe lower s-roller 134. The first transition belt edge 180 can extendfrom the lower end 184 of the first transition belt edge 180 positionedunder the top s-roller 132 and extend up the transition section 40 ofthe belt conveyor 10 to the upper end 182 of the first transition beltedge seal 180 to the body 20 of the belt conveyor 10. The firsttransition belt edge seal 180 can be positioned adjacent the first sidewall 41 of the transition section 40 of the belt conveyor 10 andextending over the sealing sections 68 of the belt 50 positionedadjacent to the first side wall 41 so that a bottom surface of the firsttransition belt edge seal 180 is positioned against the belt 50. In oneaspect, the first transition belt edge seal 180 can extend over thesealing sections 68 on the belt 50 to the side ridge 67 defining the endof the sealing section 68 so that a bottom of the first transition beltedge seal 180 presses against the side ridge 67.

The second transition belt edge seal 190 can extend from the upper end102 of the hopper 100, along the second sidewall 42 of the transitionsection 40 towards the body 20 of the hopper 100. The second transitionbelt edge seal 190 can be positioned below and extending under the upperend 102 of the hopper 100 where the lower end 194 of the secondtransition belt edge seal 190 extends below the upper end 151 of theupper run 150 of the belt 50 through the hopper 100 with thesemi-circular member 198 positioned below the top s-roller 132 and thelower end 194 extending under the top s-roller 132 so that the lower end184 of the second transition belt edge seal 190 can be positionedadjacent to the lower s-roller 134. The second transition belt edge seal190 can extend from the lower end 194 of the second transition belt edge190 positioned under the top s-roller 132 and extend up the transitionsection 40 of the belt conveyor 100 to the body 20 of the belt conveyor10. The second transition belt edge seal 190 can be positioned adjacentthe second side wall 42 of the transition section 40 and extending overthe sealing section 68 of the belt 50 positioned adjacent to the secondside wall 42 so that a bottom surface of the second transition belt edgeseal 190 is positioned against the belt 50. In one aspect, the secondtransition belt edge seal 190 can extend over the sealing sections 68 onthe belt 50 to the side ridge 67 defining the end of the sealing section68 so that a bottom of the second transition belt edge seal 190 pressesagainst the side ridge 67.

In the transition section 40, particulate material is more likely tomove off the edges 54 of the belt 50 than when the particulate materialis being carried up the belt 50 through the body 20 of the belt conveyor10. During operation, particulate material is propelled off of the upperend 151 of the upper run 150 of the belt 50 in the hopper 100. Thisupper run 150 extends generally horizontally in the hopper 100 andextends over the top s-roller 132 so the particulate material dischargedoff of the upper run 150 will typically be travelling initially in agenerally horizontal direction as well. This particulate material willdrop onto the belt 50 in the transition section 40 and the belt 50 willbe positioned at an incline in the transition section 40 to generallymatch the incline of the body 20 of the belt conveyor 10 because thetransition section 40 is used to transition the path of the belt 50 andthe particulate material being carried on the belt 50 into the body 20of the belt conveyor 10. The motion of the particulate material as ithits the inclined belt 50 in the transition section 40 and the force ofthe impact of the particulate material on the belt 50 can cause theparticulate material to bounce and move about the top surface 52 of thebelt 50, increasing the chance that some of this particulate materialwill moves off the edges 54 of the belt 50. The first and secondtransition belt edge seals 180, 190 can be used to protect the edges 54of the belt 50 and to try and reduce or even prevent oilseeds or otherparticulate material from falling of the edges 54 of the belt 50 afterthe particulate material impacts the inclined belt 50 in the transitionsection 40.

Once the belt 50 travels up the belt conveyor 10 from the transitionsection 40 into the body 20 of the belt conveyor 10, the particulatematerial on the belt 50 should have settled down after impacting thebelt 50 in the transition section 40 and the troughed configuration ofthe belt 50 as the belt passes through the upper run 450 in the body 50should make the particulate material much less likely to move off theedges 54 of the belt 50 after the belt 50 has passes through thetransition section 40 and entered they body 20 of the belt conveyor 10.

A resilient deflector 160 can also be provided in the transition section40 of the belt conveyor 10 adjacent the top s-roller 132 to preventparticulate material, that has been discharged off of the upper end 151of the upper run 150 of the belt 50 in the hopper 100 and into thetransition section 40, from moving backdown the belt 50 and under thetop S-roller 132 to potentially come in contact with the bottom s-roller134. If particulate material was to move back down the belt 50 and underthe top s-roller 132, it can come directly into contact with the bottoms-roller 134. Because of the way the belt 50 is routed over the tops-roller 132 and the bottom s-roller 134, the outer surface of thebottom s-roller 134 can be left exposed to particulate material thatfalls back down the belt 150 and under the top s-roller 132. Because ofthe orientation of the top s-roller 132 and the bottom s-roller 134, thebelt 50 will not pass between the particulate material and the outersurface of the bottom s-roller 134.

The deflector 160 can have a width that extends across a width of thebelt 50 and the deflector 160 can be angled downward and extend from afirst end 162 of the deflector 160, immediately adjacent the belt 50 andit passes over the top s-roller 132, to a second end 164 of thedeflector 160, positioned towards or adjacent to the belt 50 as the belt50 travels up the transition section 40. In this manner, the deflector60 can direct particulate material onto the inclined path of the belt 50as it travels through the transition section 40 and try and prevent theparticulate material from rolling back down the belt 50 and under thetop s-roller 132 where the particulate material can come into contactwith the bottom s-roller 134, churn and/or get forced off the edges 54of the belt 50.

The deflector 60 can also remove some material that may adhere to thetop surface 52 of the belt 50 immediately after the belt 50 has finishedtravelling through the upper run 150 in the hopper 100 and before thebelt 50 travels under the top s-roller 132 and over the bottom s-roller134.

FIG. 10 illustrates a scraper 300 the can be used to try and preventbuildup of oilseeds, oil from oilseeds and other materials on rollers inthe belt conveyor 10. This scraper 300 can have a mounting flange 304, ascraper member 302, a number of scraper fasteners 306 and a number ofmounting fasteners 308. The mounting flange 304 can be used to mount thescraper member 302 in position against a roller in the belt conveyor 10.The scraper fasteners 306 can be used to removably attach the scrapermember 302 to the mounting flange 304. The mounting fasteners 308 can beused to fasten the mounting flange 304 and therefore the scraper 300itself in position against a roller in the belt conveyor 10.

The scraper member 302 can be positioned to be in contact with a smoothouter surface of a roller and extending substantially a width of theroller to remove any material may adhere to the roller. The scrapermember 302 can be formed of a low friction rigid material, such as UHMWwhich has good wear properties, to increase the life of the scrapermember 304.

When the scraper member 302 has become worn from the friction betweenthe scraper member 302 and the roller and no longer effective to removematerial from the roller (i.e. there is a gap between the scraper member302 and the outer surface of the roller), the position of the scrapermember 302 relative to the mounting flange 304 can be adjusted using themounting fasteners 308 to move the scraper member 302 up against theouter surface of the roller again. If the scraper member 302 is tooworn, the scraper member 302 can even be removed and replaced with a newscraper member 302.

Referring again to FIG. 8, a first scraper 310, which can be a scraper300, can be positioned adjacent the back roller 140 to contact thesmooth outer surface of the back roller 140 and extend along a width ofthe back roller 140, to remove any material, such as crushed oilseeds,etc. that are attempting to adhere to the outer surface of the backroller 140. The first scraper 310 can be adjustable so that the firstscraper 310 can be re-positioned if wear of the first scraper 310 allowsexcessive build-up, or even removed and replaced if the first scraper310 is excessively worn.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the scrapers can be provided in the s-drive200. FIG. 11 illustrates a section view of the interior of the s-drive200. As the belt 50 returns travelling down the return run 452, beneaththe upper run 450, in the body 20 of the belt conveyor 10, the belt 50can enter the s-drive 200 where the belt 50 will pass over top of andaround a drive roller 250. The drive roller 250 is driven by a motor(not shown), such as a hydraulic motor, and the rotation of this driveroller 250 causes the belt 50 to travel through its path in the beltconveyor 10. Once the belt 50 passes around the drive roller 250, thebelt 50 can pass over top of a directing roller 240 which will directthe belt over top of and around a tensioning roller 230. The tensioningroller 230 can be moved relative to the s-drive 200 so that the tensionplaced on the belt 50, by the tensioning roller 230, can be altered asdesired. From the tensioning roller 230, the belt can be directed topass underneath an idle roller 220 before being re-directed back upwardsto pass over a re-directing roller 210. After the belt 50 passes overthe re-directing roller 210, the path of the belt 50 is once againdirected down the body 20 of the belt conveyor 10, along the return path452, to the intake end 12 of the belt conveyor 10.

A second scraper 320, which can be a scraper 300, can be provided incontact with the directing roller 240 to remove any material that hascollected on the outer surface of the directing roller 240 and a thirdscraper 330, which can be a scraper 300, can be provided in contact withthe idle roller 220 to remove any material that has collected on theouter surface of the idle roller 220.

FIG. 12 illustrates a wiper 370 that can be used to remove or “wipe”materials that have collected to the bottom surface 53 of the belt 50.The wiper 370 can be positioned in contact with the bottom surface 53 ofthe belt 50 and extending substantially the width of the bottom surface53 of the belt 50. The wiper 370 can have a mounting flange 372, a wipermember 374 and a plurality of fasteners 376. The mounting flange 372 canallow the wiper members 374 to be secured in place in the belt conveyor10 and allow the wiper member 374 to be attached to the mounting flange372 using the fasteners 376. The mounting flange 372 and the wipermember 374 can be positioned in the belt conveyor 10 such that the wipermember 374 is pressed against the bottom surface 53 of the belt 50.Unlike the top surface 52 of the belt 50, the bottom surface 53 of thebelt 50 can be substantially flat surface, without any raised ridges orprotrusions, allowing the wiper 370 to wipe material off the bottomsurface 53 of the belt 50.

The wiper member 374 can be formed of a flexible material, such asurethane, so that the wiper member 374 can provide a consistent pressureagainst the bottom surface 53 of the belt 50. In one aspect, thematerial of the wiper member 374 can be chosen to be durable enough thatthe wiper member 374 will not wear quickly from friction between thewiper member 374 and the bottom surface 53 of the belt 50. Urethane alsohas the benefit of not being susceptible to degradation from the oilymaterials that will be removed from the belt 50.

The wiper 374 can be positioned at an angle to the direction of travelof the belt 50 so that material that comes into contact with the wiper374 is moved outwards towards the edge 54 of the belt 50 and dischargedoff the edge 54 of the belt 50 by the wiper 374. In one aspect, thewiper member 374 can have a point 375 from which the sides of the wipermember 374 extend at an angle backwards resulting in the wiper member374 having an arrow-like profile. When this wiper member 374 ispositioned against the bottom surface 53 of the belt 50, material willbe moved off the edges 54 of the belt 50 because of the arrow-likeprofile of the wiper member 374.

Referring again to FIG. 8, wipers 350, 360, which can each be a wiper370, can be provided to remove or “wipe” any material buildup, such ascrushed oilseeds, from the belt 50. The wipers 350,360 can be providedin the hopper 100 so that the wipers 350,360 are positioned against theback of the belt 50 in the lower run 154 in the hopper 100. In thismanner, the wipers 350, 360 can remove material that has collected onthe belt 50 as the belt 50 reaches the end of its return run 452 backdown the body 20 of the belt conveyor 10 and through the lower run 152in the hopper 100 before the belt 50 passes around the front roller 122in the lower end 104 of the hopper 100 and travels back through theupper run 150 in the hopper 100 and back up the upper run 450 in thebody 20 of the belt conveyor 10. Any material that as accumulated on thebottom surface 53 of the belt 50 as the belt 50 has traveled down thereturn run 452, such as material that falls off the edges 54 of the belt50 in the upper run 450, can be removed by these wipers 350, 360 beforethe belt 50 begins travelling back up the belt conveyor 10.

The wipers 350, 360 can be positioned in front of critical rollers inthe belt conveyor 10 so that the wiper 350, 360 can remove material thathas accumulated on the bottom surface 53 of the belt 50 before the belt50 reaches these critical rollers in the belt conveyor 10 preventing thematerial from contacting and building upon these rollers. The firstwiper 350 can be positioned in back roller 140 so that the belt 50 mustpass by the first wiper 350 before it travels to the back roller 140 sothat the wiper 350 can wipe the bottom surface 53 of the belt 50 beforethe belt 50 passes under the back roller 140 and enters the lower run152 in the hopper 100 to try and remove any material that has gatheredon the bottom surface 53 of the belt 50 as the belt 50 travels down thereturn run 452 through the body 20 of the belt conveyor 10. If materialwas not removed by the first wiper 350 before the back roller 140 anymaterial on the bottom surface 53 of the belt 50 could be crushedbetween back roller 140 and the bottom surface 53 of the belt 50 whenthe belt 50 travels under and against the outer surface of the backroller 140. This can cause material to build up on the outer surface ofthe back roller 140 as well as further adhering the material to thebottom surface 53 of the belt 50.

The second wiper 360 can be positioned against the bottom surface 53 ofthe belt 50 and in front of the front roller 122 so that material thatmay have accumulated on the bottom surface 53 of the belt 50 in thehopper 100 or may have been removed by the first wiper 350 can beremoved from the belt 50 by the second wiper 360 before the belt 50passes around the front roller 122 and travels through the upper path150 in the hopper 100 and then through the transition section 40 beforethe belt 50 travels back up the body 20 of the belt conveyor 10. Ifmaterial was not removed by the second wiper 360 before the front roller122 any material on the bottom surface 53 of the belt 50 could becrushed between the front roller 122 and the bottom surface 53 of thebelt 50 when the belt 50 travels around and against the front roller 122before once again travelling up the belt conveyor 10.

FIG. 13 illustrates a removable collection tray 400 that can be providedin a lower portion of the s-drive section 200. Referring to FIGS. 11 and13, the collection tray 400 can be used to collect any material that hasbeen removed from the rollers in the s-drive section 200 by the secondscraper 320, the third scraper 330 or otherwise fallen off the belt 50or rollers in the s-drive section 200. The collection tray 400 can bepositioned generally below the second scraper 320 and the third scraper330 and the directing roller 240 and the idle roller 220, that thesecond scraper 320 and the third scraper 330, respectively, scrapematerial off of, so that any material removed by the second and thirdscrapers 320, 330 can fall into the collection tray 400.

The collection tray 400 can have a floor 402, side walls 404, a backwall 406 and a front wall 408 that define an area in which material tocollect. The side walls 404 of the collection tray 400 can fit withinchannels 202 in the s-drive section 200 on either side of an opening 204in the bottom of the s-drive section 200 so that the collection tray 400can be inserted in these channels 202 and the collection tray 400 cancover the opening 204 in the bottom of the s-drive section 200.

Collection tray 400 can be used to collect any particulate material thatmay be remove from rollers in the s-drive section 200 or that may simplyfall of the belt 50 in the s-drive section 200, such a dust, oilseeds,oil from crushed oilseed, or other particulate material. The s-drivesection 200 will typically be above the gas engine powering the beltconveyor 10 so material buildup around the engine and muffler componentscan be prevented with the collection tray 400.

The collection tray 400 can simply be removed from its position at inthe lower portion of the s-drive section 200 and any material that hascollected in the collection tray 400 can be removed. If oilseeds arebeing transported in the belt conveyor 10, the oily nature of theoilseeds can cause the material collecting in the collection tray 400 tobe sticky and gummy which can cause the built up material to clumptogether. The removable collection tray 400 can allow this oil materialto be removed from the s-drive section 200 and managed.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous changes and modifications willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly, all such suitable changes or modificationsin structure or operation which may be resorted to are intended to fallwithin the scope of the claimed invention.

1. A belt conveyor comprising: an intake end; a discharge end; a bodyextending between the intake end and the discharge end; a frame havingground wheels, the frame positioning the body in an inclinedorientation; a hopper provided at an intake end, the hopper having anupper end and a lower end; a transition section having a first side walland a second side wall, the transition section positioned between thehopper and the body; an s-roller assembly having a top s-roller and abottom s-roller, the top s-roller assembly positioned at the upper endof the hopper; and a belt having a first edge and a second edge, thebelt traveling along a travel path in the belt conveyor, the belttraveling through an upper run in the hopper, over the top s-roller,under the bottom s-roller, through the transition section, up an upperrun in the body to the discharge end and down a return run in the body,through a lower run in the hopper and back to the upper run in thehopper.
 2. The belt conveyor of claim 1 further comprising: a firsttransition belt edge seal having an upper end, a lower end and a flatbody extending from the upper end towards the lower end; a secondtransition belt edge seal having an upper end, a lower end and a flatbody extending from the upper end towards the lower end, wherein thefirst transition belt edge seal extends from the upper end of the hopperalong the first side wall of the transition section, and wherein thesecond transition belt edge seal extends from the upper end of thehopper along the second side wall of the transition section.
 3. The beltconveyor of claim 2 wherein the lower end of the first transition beltedge seal is positioned below the upper run, and wherein the lower endof the second transition belt edge seal is positioned below the upperrun.
 4. The belt conveyor of claim 3 wherein the first transition beltedge seal further comprises a semi-circular member shaped to correspondto a shape of the top s-roller, and wherein the semi-circular member ofthe first transition belt edge seal is positioned adjacent to the tops-roller, and wherein the second transition belt edge seal furthercomprises a semi-circular member shaped to correspond to a shape of thetop s-roller, and wherein the semi-circular member of the secondtransition belt edge seal is positioned adjacent to the top s-roller. 5.The belt conveyor of claim 2 wherein the first transition belt edge sealextends over a first edge of the belt, and wherein the second transitionbelt edge seal extends over a second edge of the belt.
 6. The beltconveyor of claim 1 further comprising a deflector having a first endpositioned adjacent the top s-roller and extending towards the belt inthe transition section.
 7. The belt conveyor of claim 6 wherein thedeflector is angled downwards.
 8. The belt conveyor of claim 1 furthercomprising a scraper positioned in contact with a roller in the beltconveyor and extending substantially the width of the roller.
 9. Thebelt conveyor of claim 8 wherein the scraper comprises: a scrapermember; a mounting flange; at least one scraper fastener to attach thescraper member to the mounting flange; and at least one mountingfastener to fasten the scraper in position in the belt conveyor.
 10. Thebelt conveyor of claim 9 wherein the scraper member is formed of UHMW.11. The belt conveyor of claim 1 further comprising a back rollerpositioned in the belt conveyor between the return run in the body andthe lower run in the hopper and a first scraper positioned in contactwith the back roller and extending along a width of the back roller. 12.The belt conveyor of claim 11 wherein the belt passes under the backroller.
 13. The belt conveyor of claim 1 further comprising an s-drivesection provided in proximity to the body, the s-drive provided in thereturn run and comprising; a drive roller; a tensioning roller; an idlerpulley and a plurality of rollers to direct the passage of the beltthrough the s-drive section.
 14. The belt conveyor of claim 13 furthercomprising a second scraper positioned in contact with one of theplurality of rollers in the s-drive section and extending along a widthof the one of the of plurality of rollers.
 15. The belt conveyor ofclaim 13 further comprising a third scraper positioned in in contactwith the idle roller in the s-drive section and extending along a widthof the idle roller.
 16. The belt conveyor of claim 13 wherein in thebelt passes around the drive roller, over top of a directing roller,around the tensioning roller, under the idle roller and over are-directing roller, in the s-drive section before continuing down thereturn run down the body of the belt conveyor.
 17. The belt conveyor ofclaim 16 further comprising: a second scraper positioned in contact withthe directing roller in the s-drive section and extending along a widthof the directing roller; and a third scraper positioned in in contactwith the idle roller in the s-drive section and extending along a widthof the idle roller.
 18. The belt conveyor of claim 1 further comprisinga wiper positioned in contact with a bottom surface of the belt andextending substantially the width of the bottom surface of the belt. 19.The belt conveyor of claim 18 wherein the wiper comprises: a wipermember; a wiper mounting flange; and at least one fastener to attach thewiper member to the mounting flange.
 20. The belt conveyor of claim 19wherein the wiper member is formed of urethane.
 21. The belt conveyor ofclaim 19 wherein the wiper member is positioned at an angle to a traveldirection of the belt.
 22. The belt conveyor of claim 19 wherein thewiper member has a point from which sides of the wiper member extend atan angle from the point.
 23. The belt conveyor of claim 18 wherein thewiper is positioned in contact with the bottom surface of the beltbefore the belt passes under a roller in the belt conveyor.
 24. The beltconveyor of claim 1 further comprising: a back roller, the belt passingunder the back roller before the belt passes through the lower run inthe hopper; and a front roller, the belt passing around the front rollerafter the belt passes through the lower run in the hopper and before thebelt passes through the upper run in the hopper, wherein a first wiperis positioned in contact with a bottom surface of the belt and extendingsubstantially the width of the bottom surface of the belt in front ofthe back roller and a second wiper is positioned in contact with abottom surface of the belt and extending substantially the width of thebottom surface of the belt in front of the front roller.
 25. The beltconveyor of claim 13 further comprising a collection tray provided inthe s-drive section.
 26. The belt conveyor of claim 17 wherein thecollection tray is positioned generally below the second scraper and thethird scraper.
 27. The belt conveyor of claim 17 wherein the collectiontray is positioned generally below the directing roller and the idleroller.
 28. The belt conveyor of claim 25 wherein the collection traycomprises: a floor, side walls, a back wall and a front wall, andwherein the side walls fit within channels in a bottom of the s-drivesection so that the collection tray is removably positioned in a bottomof the s-drive section.
 29. The belt conveyor of claim 28 wherein thes-drive section has an opening in a bottom of the s-drive section andwherein the collection tray, when positioned the collection try ispositioned in the s-drive section, covers the opening.
 30. The beltconveyor of claim 1 wherein the upper run in the hopper extendinggenerally horizontally.
 31. The belt conveyor of claim 1 wherein thereturn run in the body is positioned below the upper run in the body.32. The belt conveyor of claim 1 wherein the belt changes from beingsubstantially flat and oriented in a plane in the hopper to troughedshape in the transition section before travelling up the body of thebelt conveyor.
 33. The belt conveyor of claim 32 wherein when the beltis in the troughed shape, a center of the belt is positioned below theedges or the belt.
 34. The belt conveyor of claim 33 wherein the beltcurves towards the edges of the belt when the belt is in the troughedshape.
 35. The belt conveyor of claim 1 wherein the belt comprises:edges; a top surface having pairs of adjacent ridges provided on the topsurface, each ridge having a pair of arms extending from a point, in atravel direction of the belt, wherein each pair of adjacent ridgesdefine a v-channel on the top surface of the belt; and a bottom surface.36. The belt conveyor of claim 35 wherein the point of the ridgesprovided on the top surface of the belt is positioned in substantially acenter of the top surface of the belt.
 37. The belt conveyor of claim 35wherein the pair of arms of one of the plurality of the ridges, on thetop surface of the belt, extend at an angle of substantially 35 from anaxis perpendicular to the travel direction of the belt.
 38. The beltconveyor of claim 35 wherein the pair of arms of one of the plurality ofthe ridges, on the top surface of the belt, extend at an angle between25 and 45° from an axis perpendicular to the travel direction of thebelt.
 39. The belt conveyor of claim 35 wherein the pair of arms of oneof the plurality of the ridges, on the top surface of the belt, extendat an angle between 15 and 55 from an axis perpendicular to the traveldirection of the belt.
 40. The belt conveyor of claim 35 wherein thebelt further comprises a pair of side ridges enclosing the v-channels.41. The belt conveyor of claim 40 wherein the pair of side ridges areoriented substantially parallel to the travel direction of the belt. 42.The belt conveyor of claim 41 wherein the belt further comprises sealingsections, each sealing section extending between one of the edges of thebelt and one of the pair of side ridges nearest the one of the edges.43. The belt conveyor of claim 35 wherein the belt is formed of an oilresistant material.
 44. The belt conveyor of claim 35 wherein the bottomsurface of the belt is flat.
 45. A belt for a belt conveyor, the beltcomprising: edges; a top surface having pairs of adjacent ridgesprovided on the top surface, each ridge having a pair of arms extendingfrom a point, in a travel direction of the belt, wherein each pair ofadjacent ridges define a v-channel on the top surface of the belt; and abottom surface.
 46. The belt of claim 45 wherein the point is positionedin substantially a center of the top surface of the belt.
 47. The beltof claim 45 wherein the pair of arms of one of the plurality of theridges extend at an angle of substantially 35° from an axisperpendicular to the travel direction of the belt.
 48. The belt of claim45 wherein the pair of arms of one of the plurality of the ridges extendat an angle between 25° and 45° from an axis perpendicular to the traveldirection of the belt.
 49. The belt of claim 45 wherein the pair of armsof one of the plurality of the ridges extend at an angle between 15° and55° from an axis perpendicular to the travel direction of the belt. 50.The belt of claim 45 further comprising a pair of side ridges enclosingthe v-channels.
 51. The belt of claim 50 wherein the pair of side ridgesare oriented substantially parallel to the travel direction of the belt.52. The belt of claim 51 further comprising sealing sections, eachsealing section extending between one of the edges of the belt and oneof the pair of side ridges nearest the one of the edges.
 53. The belt ofclaim 45 wherein the belt is formed of an oil resistant material. 54.The belt of claim 45 wherein the bottom surface of the belt is flat.